DECO EMERALD TREE BROOCH

£5950

This tree-in-a-pot brooch was made in France in the 1920s or 30s, and bears French control marks for 18ct and an unidentified maker's mark. The leaves of the tree are emeralds, probably carved in India, interspersed with rubies and diamonds, standing in a pot of 'wooden' slats with drop-ring handles.
It shows the very strong Indian influence on deco design at at a time when the Indian Maharajahs were bringing their ancestral jewels to Europe to be reset in the latest fashion. Jewellers were strongly influenced by the colourful Indian gems, and also by Chinoiserie, Assyrian and above all Egyptian revival, inspired by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1923.
The brooch is 2 1/4 inches: 58 mm in height